[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20551-20553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SENATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  Mr. BLUNT. Madam President, we are quickly approaching the end of 
this year, and I think it is a good time to reflect on what has been 
done this year. Certainly, the Senate and the Trump administration have 
been able to do a number of things that are really going to have a 
significant impact on hard-working families.
  Yesterday, we sent the most significant tax reform legislation in 
more than three decades to the President's desk, and we had a chance to 
hear the President and others respond to that. The President, at the 
end of that ceremony at the White House, turned to the Congress and 
said: ``This is the work that you have done.'' I think the Members of 
Congress appreciated that. That showed a President who is constantly 
learning and constantly understanding how important relationships are 
here.
  I thought it was interesting that we heard Chairman Brady, the 
chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, say that there are 
three important dates about to occur for America's economy and 
America's families. One is January 1, when the new tax bill goes into 
effect, and as to the wages people are earning, people are going to be 
allowed more of those wages to stay in their billfold rather than go to 
the government's billfold. It doesn't stay very long in the 
government's billfold; that is for sure. January 1 is important. As for 
February 1, by then, that is the time by which we hope all of the new 
information is out to employers, and people are going to see in their 
February check more money than they saw in that same-sized check this 
year going home with them. This is about who is a better person to 
spend your money--you or the government. It is also about a debate 
about whether the government is better off with higher taxes or more 
taxpayers and, of course, it is better off with more taxpayers.
  Chairman Brady said that the other date is April 15, because that is 
the last time in the foreseeable future that families are going to have 
to deal with a Tax Code that they don't understand, that they believe 
to be unfair, that they believe does not treat everybody equitably in 
how that Tax Code is applied. Many of the special provisions are going 
to be out of the Tax Code. Next April 15, probably 9 out of 10 
taxpayers would have filled out an income tax form on a card about this 
big and, for 9 out of 10 taxpayers, they are going to look at double 
the personal exemption from this year--that is $24,000, if you are a 
married couple, that you just subtract immediately from your income--
and double the child tax credit, up to $2,000. Somebody said to me just 
yesterday: You mean my son with his three children is going to be able 
to take $6,000 off of whatever their tax bill would be at the bottom of 
that form, and the answer is yes. If they didn't have a tax bill, at 
the bottom of that form that totals $6,000, those families get a credit 
that allows them to take money for other taxes they have paid and take 
that home with them.
  So this is after a decade of historically low growth, a decade that 
defies virtually the entire history of the country going back to 1789, 
where 3 percent growth has been the normal growth. Less than 2 percent 
growth has been the normal growth for 9 of the last 10 years. The 1 
year that is going to be an exception is this year. It looks like we 
are going to get close to and maybe even exceed 3 percent and get back 
to where the economy should be growing. I think with the new tax bill, 
we may exceed that and most of people's concerns about a lot of the 
things in this bill will go away when the economy starts growing again.
  Buying power is almost 3 percent lower this year than it was in the 
1990s. Now, their wages may have gone up between now and the 1990s, but 
prices have gone up more, and it is time to get our economy growing 
again and let families have more of the money they have earned to spend 
on their family. If you are a family of four earning about $73,000 this 
year and $73,000 next year, next year, your tax is going to be $2,000 
less than it is this year. If you are a single parent with one child 
earning $41,000, next year your tax will be $1,300 less than it is this 
year.
  Now, some will say--as a matter of fact, I have heard it on the floor 
of the Senate--a few hundred dollars a month will not matter. Well, now 
that is clearly somebody who doesn't know how much a few hundred 
dollars a month or a few hundred dollars a year does matter.
  This bill will give us ways to compete that we don't have now. The 
bill also will provide Missouri families and other families more jobs 
and more opportunities because we are going to be more competitive. We 
will have moved our corporate tax rate. It will not be the lowest in 
the world, but it will no longer be the highest in the world. It will 
be in the very middle. Twenty-one percent is right in the middle of the 
countries we compete with. At the time that 35 percent was our rate in 
1986, it was the middle, too, but every other country that we compete 
with has figured out that that gives you a competitive disadvantage, 
and they have all lowered their taxes as our corporate tax stayed the 
same. We are restoring our competitive position. We are hoping and 
actually going to go ahead and tax the money that is trapped overseas, 
whether it comes back or not. So I think it is safe to assume that 
somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 trillion will come back into our 
economy.
  There is more U.S. money overseas that would like to come home--but 
wasn't going to come home if we took 35 percent out of it--than at any 
time before. There is more U.S. capital in this country on the 
sidelines than at

[[Page 20552]]

any time before. You put that money into the economy, and you put that 
2 trillion or so dollars into the economy. You make us the best, 
safest, and most predictable place in the world to invest money. 
Foreign investment in our economy--not in their economy but in our 
economy--will increase, and it is time for that to happen.
  This Tax Code will increase take-home pay immediately, and it will 
make us more competitive, and we will have jobs that pay more in the 
future.
  The rolling back of redtape is one of the reasons that the economy in 
our country is already growing faster than it has in a decade. People 
saw the regulatory overreach. Most importantly, President Trump saw the 
regulatory overreach. The House and the Senate saw the regulatory 
overreach. We were able to block 15 regulations before they went into 
effect. Other regulations, like the totally ridiculous power rule that 
was proposed, which in my State would have doubled the utility bill in 
less than 12 years, is not going to happen now. The waters of the 
United States, which would have suddenly put the EPA in charge of 
anything involving water, is not going to happen now. The $52 million 
increase in just the cost of getting something where you could start, 
which was the anticipated cost of the waters of the United States, is 
not going to happen now.
  Chairman Isakson of the Veterans' Affairs Committee was on the floor 
earlier, talking about what we have done with his leadership for 
veterans, and that list is long. The Veterans Choice Act continues to 
give veterans more opportunity to get the care where they want it 
rather than to be stuck in a system that didn't seem to always care 
that much whether veterans got care or not. It was more about the 
Veterans' Administration than the veterans, and competition and choice 
is in the process of ending that with good leadership at the VA 
administration and being sure that happens.
  We were able to pass a bill that I sponsored, the HIRE Vets Act. It 
is being implemented right now to recognize companies that hire vets, 
that promote vets, and that give vets credit for the skills they 
learned in the military. The Department of Labor has worked hard to put 
that on fast-forward and get it done.
  In the military, the Military Family Stability Act means that 
families, for the first time, have the opportunity that they have 
always hoped to have for the family to move a little earlier or stay a 
little longer, if that works for education purposes or the spouse's 
education or career purposes. This is a dramatic step, appreciating the 
fact that the strength of the military is in military families. We 
recruit, generally in the military, single adults, and we retire from 
the military adults with spouses and children, and this looks at that.
  There is a lot to talk about as we end this session. It is never 
perfect, but that is why we come back for the next session. There are 
going to be things that could have been done better, but so many things 
have happened that haven't happened in a generation. I know that I am 
eager to go home and talk about those, as I was on the radio this 
morning and yesterday morning doing that already. I know that my 
colleagues are too.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I wish to thank my colleague from 
Missouri for highlighting a lot of the good work of this past year in 
the Senate and touching on some highlights, particularly in the 
veterans area, that have great impact across the country. It is 
something on which we all joined together compassionately, wanting to 
help our veterans and wanting to make sure they get the best care in 
the best way as quickly as possible, and I appreciate his highlighting 
that.
  I wish to highlight the positive change that this Republican majority 
has brought to the American people in the first year of President 
Trump's administration. I am going to talk about a few different things 
than my colleague from Missouri, and I think you would expect that. I 
come from the State of West Virginia. Certain policies impact us 
differently, and so that is what having the time to talk about our 
accomplishments over the past year gives us the ability to do.
  I can't begin without talking about one of the biggest and boldest 
actions that we have taken this week, and that is our pro-growth tax 
reform bill. Throughout the process, I traveled across the State and 
heard from many constituents--friends and many strangers--all about 
this effort. Not only at the beginning did they realize what a 
difference this will make in their lives, but, as my colleague from 
Missouri said, as we move through this year, when you start to see your 
paychecks change and you bring home more of your own money because your 
rate went down or when you begin to file in April, realizing that this 
is the last time you have to file this complicated thing--I am going to 
be able to make it easier on myself--families, workers, and small 
businesses across our State are really counting on relief, and this 
week we delivered on that.
  In West Virginia, particularly when asked ``How is this really going 
to help the bulk of the people in the middle-wage earning families?'' I 
like to highlight the fact that in my State in particular, 83 percent 
of our tax filers don't take itemizations. They file with the standard 
deduction. That has now been doubled.
  The child tax credit has been doubled, as the gentleman from Wyoming 
said. It gives that child tax credit, and that goes right to the heart 
of the middle-wage earning family trying to make ends meet at the end 
of the day.
  They are predictions, but we feel certain that with the doubling of 
these deductions and this credit, more people will file on the smaller 
form and also push that number to maybe over 90 percent.
  This year, we also delivered on significant regulatory reforms, 
especially in the energy realm, which is absolutely impactful in my 
area of the country. Under the Congressional Review Act, the Senate has 
repealed 14 of President Obama's very onerous regulations.
  I led the effort to enact a CRA to fix the burdensome stream 
protection rule. This rule really threatened what was left of the coal 
industry in our region. The Obama-era rule would have prohibited many 
forms of coal mining in Appalachia. I kept saying: Let's balance this.
  Under Scott Pruitt's leadership, the EPA repealed the Clean Power 
Plan--another onerous regulation with minimal benefit. We can do it 
better, and I believe, in this EPA, we will.
  For years, I asked the Obama administration--Madam President, we 
serve on the same committee--I asked the EPA to come to my State and 
see what the impacts are of the rules and the regulations that they are 
putting forward. They never came. This year, the EPA finally answered 
my calls and came to the State of West Virginia--the State capital, 
Charleston, WV--to listen to both sides of those who will be impacted 
by any regulations that the EPA puts forward.
  We also reformed the waters of the United States--or WOTUS--rule, 
which has severe impacts not only in the mining community but 
particularly in the agriculture community and other industries in and 
around the country.
  Many parts of West Virginia continue to feel the impact of the 
devastating floods that we suffered a year ago June. So with my service 
on the Appropriations Committee, I worked diligently with others to 
ensure that our community needs are met.
  That is the great thing about this country. I know Texas certainly 
and Florida, Puerto Rico, and other areas are weaving through these 
devastating weather-related and natural disasters. With all the sadness 
that is occurring and all the destruction that we see, the one thing we 
appreciate as Americans is our ability to come together and help one 
another. The first person I met when I was going to see the floods had 
traveled 51\1/2\ hours with their church to come and help those who had 
been flooded out of their homes. On the Appropriations Committee, we 
were able to get more funding for damage to roads and other property 
and individuals so that West Virginians could get

[[Page 20553]]

back to work and provide for their families.
  I also focused my efforts on ensuring that our State had the 
resources it needs to fight back against the continued devastation 
wrought by the drug epidemic.
  Just yesterday or today, the CDC came out with a report that had 
lines on a graph that showed the different age groups and the number of 
deaths that occurred because of opioids, and every line was going up.
  The State of West Virginia has been particularly hard hit with this. 
We have the highest rate of opioid drug overdose deaths per 100,000 of 
any State in the Union.
  I worked with the new CMS to try to help secure a Medicaid waiver 
that would allow West Virginians to expand substance abuse treatment 
and also services for Medicaid members and expand the ability for 
treatment to be offered to folks who have Medicaid. I partnered with 
officials from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to hear 
directly from West Virginians at a roundtable. The Chief of Staff of 
the White House office also participated in roundtables at the White 
House.
  In honor of West Virginian Jessie Grubb, Senator Manchin and I saw 
the passage of Jessie's Law. This law bolsters our fight by requiring 
HHS to develop standards for hospitals and health professionals on a 
patient's history with addiction. Jessie Grubb admitted she was 
addicted when she was in the hospital. She wasn't in the hospital for 
addiction issues; she admitted she had an addiction problem. She left 
with opioids. She didn't live another 24 hours. In her honor, Senator 
Manchin and I have worked hard to see that this doesn't happen to 
another family.
  As West Virginia continues to be ground zero for this epidemic, I 
won't stop my work for those who are suffering, including looking at 
innovative solutions like those we have at Lily's Place in Huntington 
for the babies who are born drug-exposed--again, innocent victims of 
those rising lines I saw in the charts the CDC put forward.
  We have been working with law enforcement to ensure that they have 
the tools they need to administer emergency assistance, such as 
naxolone, to those who may be overdosing, or build on telehealth 
projects, demonstration projects that can help with substance abuse 
treatment.
  I have always said that we need a spectrum of solutions. As we look 
back, we have done a lot. As we look forward, we have to do more 
because the problem is getting worse.
  I think we also have had tremendous success and impact in our quest 
to connect West Virginia. I created a program called Capito Connect 
that would move high-speed internet connectivity into the rural parts 
of our country, in places like West Virginia that are underserved. 
Through Capito Connect and my GO Act, we have seen accelerated 
broadband access in West Virginia certainly but also in rural America. 
I was able to work with the USDA to get our local communities a 
consortium to secure a USDA loan to be able to move broadband to 9,000 
more West Virginians.
  So working with other agencies, EDA and others, on not just moving on 
broadband but economic development projects, we have seen impacts in 45 
of the 55 counties that I represent but also being able to create an 
associated 1,400 jobs.
  Federal grants like these help not only our communities but our 
universities, such as Marshall and West Virginia Universities, which 
provide great benefits to our communities.
  These are tangible achievements over the last year--both more global, 
such as the tax reform, and more local, as in broadband deployment.
  The Senate also plays an important role by giving advice and consent 
on President Trump's nominations and confirming them. This year, 
Republicans made significant progress in shaping the judiciary, most 
certainly starting with the confirmation of our Supreme Court Justice 
Neil Gorsuch. His strong record and straightforward approach are just 
what we expect from a Supreme Court Justice. I was proud to vote for 
his confirmation this year. We have also confirmed 12 circuit judges--
the highest number during a President's first year since 1891.
  I am pleased to say that as of yesterday, we had confirmed both of 
our U.S. attorneys in the State of West Virginia. I am very grateful 
for that because this fight against opioids has to have the U.S. 
attorney's help. It has to have the U.S. attorney aggression--not just 
with law enforcement but also helping with treatment.
  So this year, I am proud that we addressed a lot of America's 
concerns. We have tackled challenges head-on and delivered real 
results. I am proud that President Trump and his administration are 
listening to the needs of small States like mine, West Virginia, and 
working with me to deliver that relief.
  It has been an honor for me to host some Cabinet members in the State 
of West Virginia--I didn't see that over the last 8 years--Secretary 
Perry, Secretary of Energy; Secretary Mnuchin, Secretary of Treasury; 
and also the Secretary of Labor. We went on a coal mine tour with 
Secretary Acosta. This helps them see the kinds of ups and downs of 
life in rural and central United States--in Appalachia in particular.
  We have a lot we have to do. We have a lot on our plate. I think it 
is always this time of year that, in my personal life, I like to look 
back at some of the great things that we have accomplished as a family 
or for those whom I love or some of the things that happened to us that 
maybe haven't been quite as good as we would have hoped. I also take 
this time to be a grateful person, to be a grateful American, to be a 
grateful West Virginian because we are so blessed with where we live 
and how we live and the bounty of our friendships. But I also take the 
time to look forward to what we are going to be able to do. So when I 
see tax reform kicking in next year, in 2018, that is what I am going 
to be looking forward to for so many hard-working West Virginians, so 
many hard-working small business owners, and so many people who have 
been waiting for years--decades, in some cases--for the kind of reform 
that we put forward.
  With that, I would like to yield back my time, but first I would just 
like to say that I am grateful to be serving with the three Members who 
are in here with me today. I wish everybody here and everybody 
listening in this country a very wonderful holiday season.
  Thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, let me make a comment to the Senator 
from West Virginia. One of the problems we have right now is that 
during the last administration, there was a war on fossil fuel--which 
includes coal and nuclear also--and some of the damage has already been 
done. Unfortunately, we can't come in with a ready fix now and assume--
because a lot of the generators out there had done field switching out 
of coal, so you can't switch it back. So I will say it was help coming 
not quite on time, but nonetheless it is here now.

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